1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a paper feeding device to be used in an image forming apparatus, such as a copying machine, a printer, and a facsimile, etc., and more particularly to the paper feeding device that improves an operability in feeding and cutting a tip portion of a rolled transfer paper.
2. Discussion of the Background
In an image forming apparatus, such as a copying machine, a printer, and a facsimile, an image is transferred onto a plain paper, etc., as an image output. As an output medium, a rolled transfer paper is available in addition to a sheet transfer paper.
In the image forming apparatus in which a rolled transfer paper is used, a tray accommodating the rolled transfer paper is slid out of the image forming apparatus to replace with a new rolled transfer paper and cut a tip portion thereof, when the rolled transfer paper has been consumed, or when the rolled transfer paper is dirty or damp.
A leading edge of the rolled transfer paper is often uneven and/or slanted. An operation is then required to make the leading edge of the transfer paper even and non-slanted so that the rolled transfer paper is smoothly conveyed and is cut into a regular size.
Conventionally, in order to eliminate an uneven and/or a slanting leading edge, an operator cuts a tip portion of the rolled transfer paper while the tray accommodating the rolled transfer paper is slid out of the image forming apparatus or the tip portion of the rolled transfer paper is cut by a built-in cutter after sliding the tray accommodating the new rolled transfer paper into the image forming apparatus and feeding the tip portion thereof by an appropriate length.
For cutting the tip portion of the rolled transfer paper while the tray accommodating the rolled transfer paper is slid out of the image forming apparatus, an operator manually reels out the rolled transfer paper. This operation may not be difficult when the rolled transfer paper is small in size. To the contrary, when a rolled transfer paper of a large size, such as A-1 or A-0 is reeled out and a tip portion thereof is cut by the operator, an amount of work performed by the operator is increased.
When mechanically cutting a tip portion of a rolled transfer paper by a cutter provided in the image forming apparatus, the tip portion of the rolled transfer paper is reeled out by a motor. However, when the tip portion is cut at a shorter length from its leading edge, the rolled transfer paper may jam if the cut out tip portion is conveyed into a paper conveying path inside a main body of the image forming apparatus.
The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned and other problems and addresses the above-discussed and other problems.
The present invention advantageously provides a novel paper feeding device to be used in an image forming apparatus wherein a reel-out operation of a tip portion of a rolled transfer paper and a cutting operation of the reeled out tip portion are easily performed. The paper feeding device is configured such that the rolled transfer paper is fed and a tip portion of the rolled transfer paper is cut automatically, when a tray accommodating the rolled transfer paper is slid out of the image forming apparatus and a new rolled transfer paper is loaded. However, the tip portion of the rolled transfer paper is cut only when a discharged length of the tip portion from a rolled transfer paper discharging outlet of the tray is more than a predetermined length so that an operator can grasp the cut out tip portion of the rolled transfer paper with fingers and remove it. Thereby the cut out tip portion of the rolled transfer paper is not conveyed into a paper conveying path of an image forming apparatus, which avoids an improper conveyance of the rolled transfer paper caused by a jamming of the cut out tip portion of the rolled transfer paper.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, a paper feeding device includes a tray, accommodating a rolled transfer paper therein, which is configured to be slid out of a main body of the image forming apparatus when replacing the old rolled transfer paper with a new rolled transfer paper. The tray includes a paper loading unit to load a rolled transfer paper therein, a paper feeding device to feed the rolled transfer paper, and a paper cutting device to cut a tip portion of the rolled transfer paper fed by the paper feeding device.